What Norma found was shocking. According to Lessons from History, her parents were both lying in bed, tied up, and blindfolded with gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, her sister, Joy, was on the floor and had been both shot and stabbed.

Robert and Helen were both still alive when Norma found them, but just barely. Both had been shot in the head — Robert once, Helen twice. The next people to arrive on the scene were Russell Bevis, the proprietor of the funeral home Norma had phoned, and his son Rocky (via Project: Cold Case). Upon seeing the condition of the victims, the Bevis worked to unfree Robert and Helen. While this seems like the right thing to do, this would later be deemed a decision that compromised the crime scene for investigators. Sadly, by the time the Bevis arrived, Joy was already dead. Robert died the day of the attack, while Helen was transported to a hospital where she died nine days later.

The lead detective on the case was Larry Campbell, a 24-year-old member of the Leon County Sheriff Department, who himself would later be elected sheriff.